Speculation: Armchair GM - 2026 CBJ Offseason Roster Moves, Rumors, and Discussion

[CBJWerenski8]

Probably if it makes it that far.

I can't remember but if an offer sheet is signed, can Dallas match and then work out a separate trade with the team?

Not until one full calendar year later

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Not until one full calendar year later

So they'll want to make a trade before such a thing is signed which makes sense. A good negotiator could threaten the offer sheet to get a better trade deal if he was truly interested in joining a team.

 

[CoachWithNoTeam]

22:50

Long and fluffy interview at times but… The interesting things from this were:
1) Don looking add adding a body to the top 9. Something to the effect of “if we trade out someone from the top 9, we’re going to need to add 2 to the top 9”.
2) Voronkov was “carrying too much weight” and got in the doghouse.
3) KJ stayed in Columbus 3 weeks after the season working with the strength team.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

2) Voronkov was “carrying too much weight” and got in the doghouse

Can lead a horse to water. Sometimes people just don’t get it. I hope I’m wrong, but that kind of stuff as a mid 20 year old is pretty inexcusable. Ryan Johansen was a pudgy guy and he rolled out of bed and was able to put up points. Voronkov isn’t as gifted as Joey was.

Also thanks for the review. I was going to listen to that today. He once again doesn’t mention a D and only mentions top 9. Maybe he’ll pull a bait and switch for a big move but it really doesn’t sound like it

 

[SC Cannon]

Obviously he wasn't here then.

Doesn't excuse poor organizational structure.

Completely irrelevant to the here and now. I get as fans we get frustrated but we're the only ones that have been here for it. Id bet my house that there is not one person in the org that cares or even barely remembers Nathan Horton. Nothing about Nathan Horton period is relevant in 2026 lol.

It has never been about some possibility of success. He could eventually improve and help the team. Since I dont see a time travel button they can push, I am hoping it happens. It was always about the risk. Not the risk that the guy picked in round 6 will never leave Russia. The risk that a guy with a known serious injury you are taking at 4OA may never be healthy enough to be relevant.

And even if he shows improvement this year--he did so little last year that being statistically less relevant is almost impossible if he plays--he will need to be able to physically withstand the rigors of a 100 game NHL season if you include the playoffs. Do you expect that?

The challenge has been raised by others. Give me a comp. A guy with a serious back problem at 17 or 18 that needed surgery or laid him up for months and went on to star in the NHL with no back problems recurring through age 30. Hockey is a back injury waiting to happen.

Counterpoint, how many recent herniated disks have ended careers? What's the comp there?

The Jackets said when they drafted him that they were going to be extremely cautious with this injury. They did what they said. They knew what they were getting into. Saying he was "laid up" is clearly disingenuous.

I get we're sick of losing and being the joke of the NHL but Jesus Christ people

 

[AnonCommentary]

 

[Cheddarcheese]

it would never happen but Larkin/Fantilli as your 1/2. that would be good for the program.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Can lead a horse to water. Sometimes people just don’t get it. I hope I’m wrong, but that kind of stuff as a mid 20 year old is pretty inexcusable. Ryan Johansen was a pudgy guy and he rolled out of bed and was able to put up points. Voronkov isn’t as gifted as Joey was.

Also thanks for the review. I was going to listen to that today. He once again doesn’t mention a D and only mentions top 9. Maybe he’ll pull a bait and switch for a big move but it really doesn’t sound like it

Voronkov looked a bit pudgy in some World Cup photos he posted on IG so I feel like he is who he is and we'll just be disappointed again if he's back.

 

[SC Cannon]

it would never happen but Larkin/Fantilli as your 1/2. that would be good for the program.

I wouldn't be shocked if that's still a possibility honestly. Vegas can always work miracles but I don't see how he gets to any other team on his list realistically.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Completely irrelevant to the here and now. I get as fans we get frustrated but we're the only ones that have been here for it. Id bet my house that there is not one person in the org that cares or even barely remembers Nathan Horton. Nothing about Nathan Horton period is relevant in 2026 lol.

Organizational structure and environment can remain the same even if the people change. I'd hope they put some structures in place to learn from their mistakes.

People in the front office need to learn how to win as much as the players do and DW was supposedly brought in to do that. He'd only been on the job less than 30 days at the time of the Lindstrom draft if I'm not mistaken. I'm sure he trusted people who were here at the time.

The answer we'll never know is if he knew what he knows about the entire organization now 2 years later if the same choice would have been made.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Voronkov looked a bit pudgy in some World Cup photos he posted on IG so I feel like he is who he is and we'll just be disappointed again if he's back.

Tantalizing. You see the small-area plays, the little plays with the stick that no one else was making, the ability around the net, the dismissive smile at an opponent after a scrum.

But you just don't get any of it enough.

 

[Cheddarcheese]

I wouldn't be shocked if that's still a possibility honestly. Vegas can always work miracles but I don't see how he gets to any other team on his list realistically.

we have the farm/picks/players to make a splash

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Tantalizing. You see the small-area plays, the little plays with the stick that no one else was making, the ability around the net, the dismissive smile at an opponent after a scrum.

But you just don't get any of it enough.

That's the frustrating part. He can be so much more but he's just "there"

 

[majormajor]

So we took a calculated risk in a top lottery spot and it is trending towards backfiring.

People with injury concerns drop spots in the NFL draft every year, we can't expect the same in the NHL? If we had passed who knows when he would have been drafted. It's possible he could have slid 10 spots because other teams weren't willing to take that risk.

This isn't the gotcha you think it is. Every part of drafting involves calculated risks. Almost every player offers risk.

Lindstrom very well might have gone #2 if he didn't have the injury. The injury was built in to his value to some extent. I personally had Demidov higher but Lindstrom was still #2 on a lot of lists, including hockeyprospect. We also have instances where teams miss on a player because they put too much on injury concerns (e.g. Pastrnak).

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Of all the headlines shaping this wild 2026 NHL offseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets are emerging as one of the central figures of the summer.

Columbus has arrived at a crossroads.

Superstar defenseman and newly crowned Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski has joined Hockey 24/7’s Trade Targets board alongside the Blue Jackets’ best forward in Kirill Marchenko.

Teams have been calling Columbus GM Don Waddell about Marchenko for the last couple weeks, his name percolating in the rumor mill. And while the Blue Jackets are not actively seeking to move Marchenko, a burgeoning star that will be incredibly difficult to replace, that hasn’t stopped teams from wondering whether he’s actually interested in extending in Columbus this summer.

The same is true with Werenski.

To be clear, Werenski has not requested a trade. It will be a sad day whenever he departs Columbus, because he loves the city, the organization and the fanbase. But that reality appears to be approaching - sooner rather than later.

Werenski, 28, has two seasons remaining on his deal at a bargain $9.58 million per season. He is eligible to sign an extension next July. If the Blue Jackets asked Werenski’s camp today to forecast the chances of an extension, they probably would not find a ton of confidence in the reply. Werenski doesn’t want out of Columbus, he wants a chance to compete.

It’s a difficult sell for any player after 26 years of franchise futility that Columbus is finally rounding the corner to becoming a contender. Werenski could become the third Norris Trophy winner from the last four years to change teams.

So the question begs: What path will the Blue Jackets choose?

Will they kick the can down the road a year with Werenski and Marchenko, hoping that a couple additions and a full season under Rick Bowness will turn the tide? Will that be enough to convince them to stay?
Or will they rip the band aid off now and start over?

Captain Boone Jenner is a free agent. Forward Kent Johnson is available and goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is seeking a change in scenery, joining Werenski and Marchenko on the Trade Targets board.

Buckle up. It’s going to be a fascinating summer in central Ohio.
Here is our latest list of 40 players in play, where the ranking always seeks to blend a players’ prominence with his likelihood of a trade:

Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko join Trade Targets board

Columbus has arrived at a crossroads, the Blue Jackets emerging as a central figure of the summer.

www.hockey247.com

Marchenko 10
KJ 19
Elvis 23
Werenski 40

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko join Trade Targets board

Columbus has arrived at a crossroads, the Blue Jackets emerging as a central figure of the summer.

www.hockey247.com

Marchenko 10
KJ 19
Elvis 23
Werenski 40

Frank must really hate Columbus to make all of these assumptions. It's like he wants this team to continue to fail.

To add other this, Columbus didn't bring back Bowness and sign Charlie Coyle to just "blow it all up"

 

[BigBoss614]

Long and fluffy interview at times but… The interesting things from this were:
1) Don looking add adding a body to the top 9. Something to the effect of “if we trade out someone from the top 9, we’re going to need to add 2 to the top 9”.
2) Voronkov was “carrying too much weight” and got in the doghouse.
3) KJ stayed in Columbus 3 weeks after the season working with the strength team.

So like I've been saying, we need to make a trade to bring in someone without giving up any roster players.... The prospect pool is about to be gutted if he's able to find a taker.

 

[CalBuckeyeRob]

This isn't the gotcha you think it is. Every part of drafting involves calculated risks. Almost every player offers risk.

Lindstrom very well might have gone #2 if he didn't have the injury. The injury was built in to his value to some extent. I personally had Demidov higher but Lindstrom was still #2 on a lot of lists, including hockeyprospect. We also have instances where teams miss on a player because they put too much on injury concerns (e.g. Pastrnak).

But he had the injury. And he hadn't recovered by the time of the draft. All picks involve risk. Many of the 1st round picks by Columbus never panned out. But a herniated disk isn't a groin pull or an ankle sprain.

Pastrnak did have some back problems leading up to the draft and got picked at #25 because of them, not in the top 5.

 

[EDM]

I don't think spending 3 weeks lifting weights after the season is over is the answer for KJ either.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Frank must really hate Columbus to make all of these assumptions. It's like he wants this team to continue to fail.

To add other this, Columbus didn't bring back Bowness and sign Charlie Coyle to just "blow it all up"

Unless he signed prior to all this information becoming known.

The marchenko stuff is weird. We’ve heard nothing but positive things about him and playing here. Hopefully it’s all BS

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Frank must really hate Columbus to make all of these assumptions. It's like he wants this team to continue to fail.

To add other this, Columbus didn't bring back Bowness and sign Charlie Coyle to just "blow it all up"

"...but we all know it's coming..."

Jesus Murphy.

 

[Crede777]

But he had the injury. And he hadn't recovered by the time of the draft. All picks involve risk. Many of the 1st round picks by Columbus never panned out. But a herniated disk isn't a groin pull or an ankle sprain.

Pastrnak did have some back problems leading up to the draft and got picked at #25 because of them, not in the top 5.

The GM needs to trust the medical staff. If your specialist says the prognosis for a full recovery is good, that's the information you're acting on.

 

[Longtime Local]

Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko join Trade Targets board

Columbus has arrived at a crossroads, the Blue Jackets emerging as a central figure of the summer.

www.hockey247.com

Marchenko 10
KJ 19
Elvis 23
Werenski 40

This whole article is just disgusting clickbait from Seravalli. He even admits Marchenko and Werenski aren’t being shopped and haven’t requested a trade, but because other GMs are asking, they must be put in the article for clicks. Just gross behavior and then he tries to wash his hands clean of any accountability.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

But he had the injury. And he hadn't recovered by the time of the draft. All picks involve risk. Many of the 1st round picks by Columbus never panned out. But a herniated disk isn't a groin pull or an ankle sprain.

Pastrnak did have some back problems leading up to the draft and got picked at #25 because of them, not in the top 5.

Interestingly enough, Bleacher Report's mock draft had Columbus drafting him at 16 in their 2014 mock draft.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2048344-2014-nhl-mock-draft-projections-for-top-30-picks-after-1st-round-of-playoffs

 

[Monk]

Interestingly enough, Bleacher Report's mock draft had Columbus drafting him at 16 in their 2014 mock draft.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2048344-2014-nhl-mock-draft-projections-for-top-30-picks-after-1st-round-of-playoffs

Good thing they dodged that bullet